Saturday, October 30, 2010

Today the Irish will square off with heavy hearts against the Golden Hurricane of Tulsa. It's tough to predict what exactly will happen in such an emotionally charged contest, but I feel pretty confident that it will play out in one of two ways:

Scenario #1: The confidence of the squad was severely shaken after a whipping at the hands of Navy last weekend. Throw in the fact that they witnessed an unspeakable tragedy on their practice field this past Wednesday and the emotional fallout that's accompanied it and this game could be another tentative, flat, Navy-esque performance. Tulsa's high-powered offense takes advantage and it becomes a high-scoring, sloppy shootout.

Scenario #2: The Irish come out and harness the unbelievable emotion that is sure to be present in that stadium and ride that wave to a blowout victory. The talent gap isn't as large as it was in the Western Michigan game, but it's in the same vicinity. If Notre Dame comes out determined and focused to truly "Play for Declan" then Tulsa has no chance.